Eating Simple.

When we invite and acknowledge simplicity in our lives things seem to become less stressful, don't they? We see how easy it is to make others happy with an endearing smile, and hugs can be all the comfort a close friend could ever need on a bad day. But what about eating habits? No, I don't mean reflect on the fact that we can mindlessly spoon delicious meals into our mouths. Rather eating and maintaing a healthy diet can be [nearly] stress-free, if we are consuming foods with simple ingredients.

A few weeks back I wrote a guest post about My Fitness Pal. This website & app have helped me maintain a healthy lifestyle by enabling me to track calories. I've even lost 8 pounds in total! The database has the calorie count for almost anything you could ever imagine. I can even enter items from restaurants like Rubios and Pita Jungle [no, they did not pay me to say this- and neither did MFP]. But there are times that I'm frustrated with its inability to find out how many calories are the green chile burro from my favorite hole in the wall Mexican restaurant.

Of course there is a way to enter random calories so I can guess the amount ingested, but there's another way to stray away from the anxiety.

EAT SIMPLY.

A few of my close friends are nutrition majors and this secret weapon "works", when it comes to losing and maintaing weight. Think about it. You can look up the nutrition information for the meals you're making at home because you can choose to use simple ingredients. But, when you're out to eat it's a rarity that there will be a spreadsheet located on the side of the menu explaining everything you're stuffing into your mouth!

Doesn't this make sense? If you're looking to track what you're eating I'd encourage you to cook often. Of course, I don't mean you should boycott eating out- this is part of socializing and treating yourself when you've done well! But, this will keep you from over or under gaging what you're eating...

I'm still a rookie chef, if you can even call me that. But it does feel good to cut fresh vegetables for grilling or for dicing. Find joy in understanding the nutrients you're giving your body. The motto I'm striving to live by is:

Source: trainingforhealth.tumblr.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Happy Thursday! XO